Needleless systems are a major desire in health care facilities to reduce the risk of needle stick injury. Annual incidence has been estimated at 600,000 to 1 million needle sticks in the United States, which represents the second most frequent cause of hospital employee injury. The majority of these injuries are defined as contaminated and about 70 percent occur after the needle has been used. The risk of injury is primarily borne by nursing personnel which account for 65-70 percent of the reported injuries. The cost of managing each injury ranges from $1400 to $2000 per incident in U.S. hospitals.
The new OSHA regulations were developed as a result of the petitions of unions representing health care employees, to protect their employees from occupational exposure to blood borne diseases. This concern and the resulting publicity of care providers who have been injured with a contaminated needle has driven the development of the new products which can assist the care provider in minimizing their risk of personal injury.
Safety syringes, protected needles and needle free Intra-Venous (IV) systems have been on the market since 1991. There are few issues that have generated as much attention and emotion among the hospital staff and patients as the need to address the safe use of needles in patient care delivery systems.
It is a desideratum of the art to provide a product that will meet hospital requirements for a universal fit with any I.V. fluid, set, pump, catheter or syringe system in hospital use.